Zero balance: the reigning KHL champion risks being eliminated in the first round

Avangard defeated Metallurg at home in the third match of the Gagarin Cup first round series — 2:1 OT. Konstantin Okulov and Vladimir Tkachev scored goals for the hosts. Nikita Mikhailis scored the only goal for the visitors. The score in the series of up to four wins was 3-0 against the current winners of the Gagarin Cup. On April 1, the teams will play their fourth game in Omsk. In other pairs, the hockey players of SKA, Sibir and Torpedo got into a difficult situation. Read more about the first results of the KHL playoffs in the Izvestia article.

Super Forward Tkachev

Another defeat would have put him on the brink of relegation. That is why the guests began to be super active, trying to clamp the opponent in his zone. Avangard's first shot at Smolin's goal (he started instead of Nabokov) occurred only in the seventh minute, after the Hawks were outnumbered.

Omsk residents also received a "5 on 4", but they could not realize the majority. In general, the game looked dynamic, although without a hail of dangerous moments. It was possible to understand the players: after all, the moment has come when the price of a mistake is too high. Magnitogorsk looked sharper in attack, Avangard seriously lost in shots on target (4-11), but in the end the teams had a dry 20 minutes.

In the second segment, the rivals exchanged goals, but the overall balance did not change. First, Mikhailis scored: Magnitogorsk made a quick lunge, did not notice any resistance in the middle zone, and finally Nikita from the right circle of the faceoff clicked into the far corner!

Then, after Vovchenko was removed, Tkachev showed a real master class: Vladimir closed the starboard side, beat two opponents and shot blindly at the far post, from where Okulov threw it under the crossbar! There is the first Avangard puck in the majority in the series.

In the third period, Avangard was better (13-3 on shots), but could not snatch the victory. They also had two great chances to score. Tkachev jumped out one-on-one after a smart counterattack, but could not push the puck into the goal. And Okulov missed a killer chance after a blunder by the Press — Smolin saved the guests again.

Everything was decided again in overtime, for the second time in a row in this series. And the winning goal turned out to be a curious one. Smolin handled Boucher's snap from the left faceoff circle, and then Johnson, in an attempt to make a pass from the faceoff, hit the rounding of the goal, the puck bounced onto Tkachev's stick, which solved the episode with a nickel. For the second overtime in a row, he is the hero!

2:1 in the match and 3:0 in the series in favor of Avangard — Andrey Razin's team stands at the very edge of the abyss. Now only a miracle will help her.

Waiting for Nikishin

Before the start of the Dynamo–SKA series, it was difficult to ignore the fact that in the regular season, St. Petersburg lost five out of six face-to-face matches to Alexei Kudashov's team. It turned out to be much easier to remember that Roman Rotenberg's only victory over the blue and white was brought by Alexander Nikishin, who turned into the king of overtime this year.

Often, one of the brightest attacking defenders of the new wave became a man who, in difficult and stressful moments, took on the team and made the result. But after he was injured in the match against Avtomobilist and was out indefinitely, the main question was: who would lead SKA in his absence?

The two opening matches of the first round and two abandoned goals in them gave an eloquent answer — no one. All this is due to the presence of Gritsyuk, Grigorenko, Khairullin, Kuznetsov and Tolchinsky in the squad.

In an ideal world, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had recovered shortly before the end of the regular season, should have replaced Nikishin in the role of leader. In the second match of the series, he joined Ivan Demidov from the first minutes. However, the former Washington forward was once again far from the best version of himself. Globally, Rotenberg was pleased with one of the most long-suffering hockey players of the season only by the absence of stupid deletions and unnecessary emotions. However, was it worth expecting more from a man who missed about a month?

At a press conference, the SKA head coach has already announced the possible return of Nikishin and Plotnikov to the ice in the third match of the series. The age-old striker, who unexpectedly gave out one of the best regulars in his career, last appeared in the St. Petersburg team's application on March 4 in a guest meeting with CSKA. His vast cup experience, size and ability to get under the skin of opponents will definitely not be superfluous for a team that needs to save the series. One thing is confusing: in the last eight games, the veteran scored only 2 (0+2) points.

The day after tomorrow, the two restored leaders will have to rush into the playoffs without swinging and turn the tide of the confrontation with Dynamo. It will be impossible to beat truly balanced Muscovites without their help.

The defeats of Siberia and the patience of Lokomotiv

There has never been such an outsider team as Sibir at the current celebration of life, known as the first round of the Gagarin Cup, in the history of the tournament. Ten years ago, such defeats were explained by the gap in the level of budgets and the quality of the lineups (we lost two opening matches to Salavat Yulaev with a total score of 15:2). In an era of tight salary caps, two disgraceful matches in a row don't even deserve a hint of justification. Now, even Salavat is unlikely to be satisfied with victories with a large score — such lightness discourages and negatively affects psychology.

In another pair in the East, Traktor equalized the score in the confrontation with Admiral (1:1 in the series). However, Chelyabinsk residents can be satisfied with two things — the victory as such and the confident actions of goalkeeper Zach Fucale, who came to his senses after the failure in the opening match of the series. Otherwise, there are plenty of questions for head coach Benoit Groux and his team. It is the "Admiral" who, despite the defeat, looks like the master of the situation. Leonid Tambiev and his team caused a lot of problems for Chelyabinsk in the regular season, and now they have quickly adjusted to an opponent who does not justify his status as a favorite.

The hosts' quick transition from defense to attack hardly worked because of the saturated midfield. The guests read the Tractor's moves without any problems and counterattacked dangerously. Artyom Blazhievsky's gorgeous winning goal — the last time he scored so beautifully, probably back in the MHL for the Red Army — brought relief to Traktor and gave them the opportunity to think about what needed to be changed before the matches in the Far East.

The most boring, tedious and predictable episode of the first round lives up to expectations. They were initially modest due to the poor condition of Torpedo (they lost five matches in a row before the start of the playoffs). At least a PhD thesis can be written about the transformation of Igor Larionov's coaching approach, which moved from the progressive hockey of the future to the "bus". But here and now, the bet on defense was justified.

In the second game, Nizhny Novgorod (after a hopeless defeat in the first match with a score of 3:1), although they missed, playing in the minority, they did not allow Lokomotiv to turn at full capacity. Moreover, the sharp attacks of the guests allowed them to count on at least a draw. It would be well deserved. However, it is almost impossible to beat Yaroslavl at a distance in the "bus derby". They know how to endure themselves, they are thrown away competently and act correctly without the puck in their half. Simple, but effective. Moreover, the team has become stronger than a year ago, due to the majority. Anton Kuryanov's work is bearing fruit — Maxim Shalunov scored the winning goal in a five-on-four format.